Meeting
by piratequeenz
Summary: This was a rather enjoyable rp, that has to be my absolute favorite Scarecrow/Ragady meeting. I asked if I might adapt it to story format, and the person playing Scarecrow said to go ahead, he wasn't going to use it for anything. So here it is. Enjoy.


**((Disclaimer: **Scarecrow, Gotham, all Batman characters belong to D.C.

Ragady belongs to me.

**Author's Notes: **I still apologize for any mistakes in the German.

This was a rather enjoyable rp, that has to be my absolute favorite Scarecrow/Ragady meeting. I asked if I might adapt it to story form, and the person playing Scarecrow said to go ahead, he wasn't going to use it for anything. So here it is.

A bit of needed Background: This takes place a good few years after the first Scarecrow she served affectively disappeared, and since then a few people have shown up trying to claim the title. They failed. The rp kind of takes place in a world where all the different multi-versus are connected, since it allows for more activity. That means there are usually a few different versions of the Joker-who ARE all the Joker- running around and interacting with one another, a few different Batmans, etc etc. So basically, this Scarecrow is from one of the muti-versus, and has found his way into the new Gotham-where Ragady has been residing for some time already.

Special thanks by the way to **highland girl 1592**and **Dr Facer**for consistent reviews on more than one story. Thanks guys. Anyways, enjoy. ))

**Ragady**

Ragady did not smile this night, as lovely as it was. She had heard word of something that made her wonder. A new Scarecrow was in her city. She was not entirely surprised; there had been impostors to the crowns before. The question: was he the God he claimed to be- worthy of the crown or just another run of the mill human laying claim to what they had no right to? She would find out soon enough, about this "god of fear".

Finding where he was staying for the time had been easy enough, but then again, finding people had never been a particularly hard task for her. So she stood outside of the building, looking up at it, stitched hand gripping the rough and tattered material of her orange skirt, green eyes drifting for a look out from the veil of floor length hair around her petite form. Unlike the other women in Gotham she had met, the others with rogue titles, she did not at all have curves, not like they did. Her form was thinner, it was even said she had been built with a fairy-like frame. She had never known whether to take such a remark as a compliment, or an insult. Her mind drifted for a moment, remembering the first Scarecrow she had met, for the first time. How nervous she had been, and how well she had hidden it. This time, there was no nervous feeling to hide. She was simply here.

She was well aware that, prior to meeting her, the previous Scarecrow had never been much for setting traps. He set up alarms and surveillance, but his traps were to inform him of guests, not to kill off anyone uninvited within seconds. So naturally, she was not too terribly worried as she made her way inside, even calling out to make her presence known.  
"Hallo, ist anyone home?" she called out, though her voice still slid along the skin, hung in the air like a spider web.

**Scarecrow**

Crane had set up in an empty building in the run down part of town. It was simple, and it worked. Not as roomy as a warehouse, but he did not require much space for his chemicals alone. He had acquired adequate materials for making a lab in the back room, and the front room had only some empty boxes that had been left behind and a mattress with a few affects signifying that at some point this had been an encampment of sorts. The windows were boarded shut, and he had left the front as it was. If anyone used the encampment, fine by him. He could test his products on the people to see how he was doing so far.

He did, however, hear the front door (he had fixed it so the door only _looked _boarded up, but was actually quite functional) open and a voice call out, making him pause in his work. He was not sure what it was, but something about that voice made him instinctively reach for his scythe, making sure he had his fear toxins handy. He moved cautiously to the door frame of his lab, ducking down to peak out the door, since if they had a gun they would not be aiming low. He saw a figure; a small woman with hair that he could only guess must have taken her entire life to grow. She was only standing there, but something told him that she was by no means harmless. Call it a hunch.

He stood up, since it was apparent she was not wielding a gun, and opened the door all the way, the light from the lab streaming into the room. He did not, however, relinquish the scythe.  
"Yes, what is it you want?" he asked, none too friendly, but he did not particularly care to be friendly.

**Ragady**  
A stitched smile curled Ragady's lips, a smile that was in no way friendly. She was not worried about a scythe; the razor wire she had could spring to life and help her against such a thing within a matter of seconds. She spoke, her voice holding an unnatural and unnerving child lilt to it, and with her voice, her aura spread outwards like a cold wind. It was not its strongest, she was only giving a taste, the general feel of the air growing heavy and cold, the supernatural whisper that sent a chill down the spine and made hair stand on end.  
"Ah, so I was right, it is you." she smiled, actually giving a bow, her hair sweeping down around her and back as she rose, though the smile was still much more cruel than genuine.  
"I had heard a new Scarecrow had come to town. Ich bin Ragady, the Ragdoll ift you please." she introduced, placing a stitched hand on her chest as she introduced herself. She paused, then added in a voice that held slightly more authority to it, almost a warning even.  
"I am also the Mistress oft Fear for this city, und have _earned_ meine title, _not_ been given it." she remarked, and her hair parted from her face, leaving only a few strands with a simple move of her head. The movement was obviously well practiced. She took a step forward, confident. She was not threatening, so much as evaluating.  
"The question is, who _you_ are." she remarked with a frown and eyes that were cold, "and if you are truly another Scarecrow, another God of Fear, or ift you are nothing more than an impostor." she remarked, her words cold and biting, blunt about her thoughts on the matter. She strode her way around his form, and when just behind him she gave a sharp whisper,  
"You had better hope to be true, because impostors of meine gott, vill not make it out oft meine city alive." she remarked, and this time it was a threat, her aura reaching around him like a great hand, reaching for his throat.

**Scarecrow**  
He felt the chill fill the air the moment the woman spoke, and when she introduced herself, he knew exactly who she was. Same as she had heard of his returning to town, he had heard much about her activities in his absence. Yes, she was not mistaken, from all he had heard she had more than earned the title, and he had been hoping to meet such a person for himself, who seemed to have single handedly kept the proper form of fear in Gotham while he was absent. He had not expected her to find him.

He felt the way her voice seemed to slide along the skin, things he had heard plenty about, but not before experienced for himself. If what he heard about this woman was true, she was more than able to back up her words. He listened to her accusations, gritting his teeth at the insult, and watched carefully as she made her way close to him. It seemed she was as fascinated with him as he was of her, and so it was not likely she would be killing him. He allowed her to move in closer to him, on edge and ready to strike if she made a move, but otherwise waiting…until she made that last threat. That was enough, and in a flash of speed he grabbed a canister of his toxins and aimed the spray of mist directly for her face, so there was no way for her to breathe without inhaling a direct dose. He would see for himself if the theories of her lack of humanity were true, or just theories formed from what she did.

He would speak to her then, voice equally fierce, almost a rasp.  
"You will learn quickly I am in no way an impostor!" he seethed, voice calming then only enough to make it deadly.  
"I am the Master of Fear, and have held that title long before you came around, my dear. I have been perfecting inducing fear while you were still in your teenage years, I was first discovering it when you were no more than a child. You may have proved affective at keeping Gotham in fear while I was away, but that in no way justifies your overwhelming confidence." he would lean down and stare her in the face, returning her threatening whisper,  
"Because now, you are dealing with _me_. So tell me, what is it that the 'mistress of fear' herself fears?" he asked, prepared to give her a stronger dose of toxins if the batch he used did not affect her to his desired potential.

**Ragady**  
Ragady's eyes widened as she caught a lung full of the toxins, the very toxins that had never before been actually used on her. Her arms moved up to cover her face instinctively, and she stumbled back a few steps and tripped, her hair falling about her form. She sat up, eyes angry.  
"Vhat, was zat?" she demanded to know, "you really thought such ein simple thing-" she stopped speaking then, eyes glancing to each side of him, her pupils not shrinking, but disappearing all together. The toxins did, indeed, affect her, and her mannerisms changed in an instant, though it was clear the chemicals were slow working.

Her eyes darted about as he spoke, not able to focus on one thing as the entire world began to blur, and then to darken, until she could just barely make out what he was saying. Then his words became jumbled, murmurs, whines, and she could not understand him. It was dark, and she did not mind that one bit. So, this was what it was like to face Scarecrow's toxins? She looked about mildly, failing to see what the big deal was. Then a light came on above her, bright and punishing, shining down on her form. She flinched, her eyes squinting, and a single arm came up over her head as she glanced off.  
"That ist annoying, turn it off." she demanded of no one. A second light turned on above her, not far from the other one, making her reach up with her other arm to block it.  
"I said, turn that off!" she demanded again, hiding the growing panic. A third light joined the other two, and she lowered her head, voice starting to hold the growing panic.  
"Turn it off!" her voice lost any form of authority to it, however, as three more lights flickers on above her, making her all but curl into a ball to try to protect herself from it, hands gripping her head and eyes squeezed shut.

"STELLEN SIE ES AB!" she screamed it, and her fear aura lashed out in a wave of cold and violence, no longer restricted, striking in true. It was her true potential, which she so rarely showed, and had instead to focus on not using, she had to keep her aura in check so that anyone could even tolerate her presence. The aura struck out, filling the room in a thick wave that made it impossible to breath, and every light bulb broke in a shatter of glass, any electronic devices short-circuiting. Try as it might, however, her aura could not find the lights she faced, and could not turn them off. It groped the air in confusion, and then finally returned to linger on her skin in defeat.  
She lay curled in fetal position, tears streaming from her closed eyes and arms over her head, limbs shaking in actual fear. And surprisingly, pain.

**Scarecrow**  
Crane grinned beneath his mask as he saw her pupils not only shrink, but disappear. So, she was affected, wonderful! He reached down, a gloved hand gripping her face.  
"Feeling dizzy? Having trouble concentrating? Seeing things that aren't there?" he asked her with a cold laugh.  
"Not so high and mighty now, are you ragdoll?" his head turned to the side, pondering what something like her could be afraid of.  
"Tell me what you see. What is it you are afraid of?" she seemed to completely ignore his words, looking about not with fear, but with mild fascination. How could that be? She should be groveling, if not screaming! He grit his teeth in anger at her lack of reaction, taking a step back in disgust, just as her eyes flung upwards, to the ceiling, and filled with the emotion he knew so very well.

His smile returned, and he leaned forward again. What was she looking at? He actually glanced upwards, as if he could share her vision.  
"Yes, what is it? What has you flinching?" he asked, eyes moving back to her face with eager anticipation, licking his dry lips under the mask.  
'Turn it off.' she said.  
"Turn what off? What is it that is frightening you?" he asked, leaning down. She repeated the same phrase, not giving him any more in words. Oh, but she gave plenty more emotion, as her walls began to crack and crumble, the fear and panic began to grow. His smile did nothing but grow as she crumbled, and he was about to let out a victorious laugh, when the entire situation changed.

Something, that aura of hers he guessed, burst from her form, pushing him backwards and making his heart literally skip a beat, his pulse speeding and lungs gasping for breath he could not have. It took only a split second, for his vision to swim into black; he did not even feel himself hit the floor. He did not hear her scream; he heard the taunting voices of the bullies he had endured, the jeers and taunts of the nickname he now used. "Scarecrow! Scarecrow! Scarecrow!" they taunted and laughed as he gasped and struggled for breath, and then suddenly the vision faded away, as quickly as it had come, retreating. He was able to gasp for breath as his vision returned. His heart was still in his throat, and he looked around panicked, looking for his tormentors, and seeing no one.

What had happened just now? His eyes glanced around in the darkness, wondering what had happened. He moved to sit up, and placed his hand in some broken glass, what he assumed was once a light bulb, from the lack of lights. He glanced over at the form he could just make out as the dull emergency lights came on, casting the edges of the room in a dull red glow. Crumpled over and crying, muttering something under her breath. He paused to catch his breath, calm his nerves, and new she was what had done this. He looked over to the door to his lab, which had closed, and scrambled up to open it, letting in the light from there to let him better see her form. Without really thinking, he went over and picked up his scythe, staring down at her crumpled, shaking form, and lifted the scythe. He could strike her down in an instant! He let out a laugh that was hardly healthy at all, and moved to slice off her head...and then paused, the blade inches from her flesh.

He remembered instead what he had heard about her, and what she had said. He lifted the scythe, this time taking it away from her form. He backed up from her, thinking. Why should he destroy such a thing, just because it had managed to affect him that one time? Why, when he could harvest the power. Use it. He sat down on one of the boxes that had been left behind, staring at her form, and forming a plan in his head for when she should awake...

**Ragady**  
Ragady shook, and muttered in her native tongue, tears falling from her eyes, for how long she was not sure. But eventually, the nightmare began to recede, the lights dimming as if they were dying. She stopped muttering, froze. Then gradually, she looked up, and found herself back where she had started. Her eyes darted about the room for a moment, and then she sat up, slowly. Her eyes darted around, her breath short, heart actually pounding in the aftertaste of the fear! Such a thought actually made her smile, as her eyes came to find the Scarecrow's form. They widened now instinctively, and without skipping a beat she slumped forward hands in front of her and face all but touching the floor.

"I pray you might forgive me, Master Scarecrow, I was not sure it was you. There have been impostors before, I simply could not abide by a fake trying to take your place!" she spoke, a shudder running down her spine. She chanced a single eye up through the hair to glance at him, a curious eye, and then swiftly returned it to the ground.  
"W-Was that...what your toxins are like?" she asked in a small voice, though her eyes were much more excited than fearful in the moment. She glanced up, this time respectfully, and had to ask.  
"Can you do it again?" in a genuine voice. Ragady, after all, liked being afraid.

**Scarecrow**  
Master...Scarecrow? Beneath his mask he knew his face must have held mild surprise at her words. He had heard rumor of her allegiance, but had not dared to actually believe such a thing was true. He straightened his face beneath the mask, adjusting himself and thinking the title did rather suit him. His surprise returned tenfold, however, when she actually asked him to deliver another round of toxins. His mouth actually gapped! Yet again, he recovered swiftly.  
"Perhaps if you behave yourself well enough, I might grant you another taste." he smiled at already having such an easy thing to use as a monitor for her behavior. Moreover, he had just acquired a more than willing test subject, it seemed. Things could hardly be going more splendidly. He rose from his seat, addressing her with authority to his voice.  
"You will be working for me now, you will do as I say when I say it, without question. Do you understand?" he spoke coldly, arms crossed, though on the inside he was positively ecstatic.

**Ragady**  
Ragady smiled, bowing her head again.  
"Ja, as you say it, I will comply." she nodded her head, happy to have someone to tell her what to do, instead of it being the other way around. She could lead people quite efficiently, but that did not mean she enjoyed it. She preferred to follow, but only if the person was worthy of her following them. He, was worthy.  
"I often work in the shadows, out of sight, but the moment you call for me, I will be there..." she smiled, lifting her head enough to affectively move backwards, into the darkness and out of site with a pleased smile. As she said, out of sight and out of the way…until he called for her…


End file.
